Archived: Acer Care

People's experience of using this service:

People and their relatives were complimentary about the service provided and said they could rely on staff to provide the care agreed.

Staff understood the risks to people’s safety and supported them to reduce risks, whilst promoting their choices.

Staff knew how to identify concerns, such as allegations abuse, and understood how to protect people.

People’s needs were assessed, so staff could be sure they would be able to meet their needs.

People's care was planned with them and reflected their preferences. People, relatives and staff worked together to adapt people’s care plans as their needs and preferences changed.

Staff promoted people’s rights to independence, dignity and privacy when planning and providing their care.

Staff had developed the skills needed to care for people, and supported people to see other health and social care professionals, so they would enjoy the best health possible.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this.

People were supported by a consistent staff team, and had developed strong bonds with staff who understood what was important to them, and how people liked to communicate.

Systems were in place to take learning from any complaints or concerns raised. People and their relatives knew how to raise any concerns and complaints and were confident these would be addressed.

People were complimentary about the way the service was provided and managed.

The registered manager considered people's views as part of their quality assurance processes. The registered manger planned to further develop their quality assurance system so they were assured people's needs continued to be met.

Staff were encouraged to reflect on the care provided so improvements to the service would be driven through.

We found the service met the characteristics of a "Good" rating.

Rating at last inspection: Good. The last report for Acer Care was published on 14 November 2016.

Why we inspected: This inspection was a scheduled inspection based on previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service and will inspect within 30 months of the report being published.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

The inspection took place on 17 August 2016 and was unannounced.

The service provides personal care to people living either in their own home or the home of a family member. At the time of the inspection approximately 40 people used the service and a registered manager was in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us they felt safe and that they felt safe because of the way staff supported them. People received the support they wanted at the times agreed as there were enough staff able to attend to all the calls they were expected to attend. How people received their medicines was reviewed regularly to check that people received their medicine correctly and that staff understood how to help people to manage their medicines in ways which helped them stay as safe as possible.

People received care from care staff they felt confident around and who had received training to do the job. Training was reviewed regularly so that staff could access as much training as possible and develop the skills they needed to care for people. Staff had received training so they knew how to promote people’s rights.

People chose which meals they wanted prepared for them and were supported to eat and drink enough to keep them healthy. Staff supported people to access help from other professionals such as the GP or district nurse where this was appropriate.

People liked the staff that cared for them and valued their support. Care staff involved people in decisions about their care by talking with them to understand how they wanted to be cared for.

People received care which took into account their need for privacy and dignity. Staff knew what actions to take so people’s privacy and dignity were protected.

People were aware of how to raise complaints and people felt they could speak to the staff in the office or the manager. Complaints reviewed demonstrated that there was a system in place for acknowledging, reviewing and responding to complaints.

People’s care and the quality of their care was reviewed regularly and changes made where to further develop the quality of the service. The care being delivered was also reviewed by the registered provider who had a day to day involvement in the running of the business. The registered manager and registered provider worked in close partnership to ensure the running of the service met with the registered provider’s expectations and the registered provider was assured of the standard of care being delivered.